US military drops most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan
The United States military has recently dropped America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb nicknamed "Mother of all Bombs" (MOAB) on ISIS controlled areas in Afghanistan.
The Massive Ordinance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB Bomb), its official name, was dropped at a cave and tunnel complex for ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) personnel in the Archin district of the Nangarhar province on Thursday, according to military officials who spoke with CNN. The bomb was carried and dropped by an MC-130 aircraft operated by Air Force Special Operations Command that is stationed in Afghanistan.
This was the first time the US military has ever used the MOAB bomb and according to Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, the timing was right. "This was the first time that we encountered an extensive obstacle to our progress," he said, Reuters reported. "It was the right time to use it tactically against the right target on the battlefield."
The destructive power of the GBU-43/B bomb, as said on reports, is equivalent to 11 tonnes of TNT. Witnesses at a village located 3 miles (5 km) from the mountainous area said the ground shook after it explode but houses were unaffected by the blast.
US' White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has reiterated the country's stance on its fight against the notorious terrorist group later on Thursday. "The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and in order to defeat the group we must deny them operational space, which we did," he said.
There were 36 suspected Islamic States militants killed in the attack, officials said. Afghanistan Defense Ministry spokesman, Dawlat Waziri, reassured that no civilians were harmed during the bombing of ISIS location in the area.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has called the mission "another successful job." When asked if he was the one who gave the order to attack, the President said he gave the US military full authorization and the missions was the result of that. Trump declined to give further comments or specifics about the matter.
